You can never go wrong with tacos from Big Star! My favorite taco is the Taco de Panza, which has crispy pork belly topped off with queso fresco - what a great combo! The chips and guac were tasty as well. read more

Big Star - Chips & Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here tonight with a friend for a last-minute dinner. It was a cooler night, so it wasn't too crowded, but there were a decent amount of people there. We were thisclose to ordering drinks because they all looked so good and almost every other table there had a pitcher, but we decided not to ball out too hard (next time for sure though!). Instead, we just got the fish tacos, tacos dorados, and the potato tacos. I've gotta say, I liked them all! I think I'd have to pick the fish taco as my favorite, but the potato was a close second, and they paired nicely. The tacos dorados were these crunchy fried tacos stuffed with mushrooms and were pretty good, but I don't think I'd order them again. I will say this place is quite expensive for tacos. They're all around $5 each, and I almost got the carne asada taco since they said it was the special for taco Tuesday, but it was $6! Definitely not worth the spend in my opinion, although I didn't try it. If you're looking for a cheap option, the potato taco was only $3.50 and came with a side of salsa -- very good deal if you ask me. read more

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This place is awesome! Convenient outdoor and indoor seating plus the bar. The tacos are delicious! I recommend the tacos Al Pastor and Carne Asada which has guacamole. The bartender/server Sofia is the best! Very attentive, diligent, dedicated and friendly! She gave me great recommendations! Love the margaritas she makes. Very smooth and refreshing! I highly recommend these margaritas! I look forward to going to Big Star in Wicker Park! Thank you Big Star and thank you Sofia! read more

Great tasting tacos and a huge portion of nachos. Tacos are a bit on the pricier side, but they are delicious. Came on a Sunday evening, which I was able to get seated right away and immediate service which was a huge plus. read more

Big Star - nachos - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Nice restaurant that offers Mexican food and beverages in Wicker Park. They have seating indoors as well as outdoors - we sat outdoors. The ambiance was pretty laid back and the service was prompt. We ordered chips and salsa - we got 2 salsas , green and red. The salsas were delicious, but the chips were a bit too salty. We also ordered Margarita and Whiskey Mule, both we delish. Had a nice time at the restaurant! read more

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This was a great stop with spacious outdoor dining, excellent service, and tasty tacos. Loved it! read more

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Big fan of el pastor and the pescado tacos. Not a fan of the salsas. Love the outdoor patio. Vibe is hipster. Waitress was super sweet, service was quick and friendly. read more

We got take-out here and it was a super simple and quick process. They have a window off to the left of where the tent is and I ordered about 8 tacos, which took not even 10 minutes. I'm a big fan of their fish and shrimp tacos! The fish is beer-battered tilapia with the typical fish taco accompaniments like slaw and mayo. I was pleasantly surprised that 15 minutes later, sitting in a to-go box, it still remained crisp. The shrimp taco also stayed crisp. Definitely coming back again, next time trying out the pork belly and barbacoa! Really great salsas, my favorite was the red one as I think there was some type of chipotle or other dried, smoky pepper mixed in. read more

A fun spot! All of their options looked delicious. I ended up ordering 3 - the zanahoria, the al pastor, and the walking taco. For some reason I thought the walking taco would come like a normal taco, but it was a legit walking taco in a Fritos bag! It was delicious haha. The carrot taco was also excellent - a great veggie option! It was refreshing with its sauce. The al pastor is a classic - love the pineapple! We also had a pitcher of margaritas. All excellent! read more

Big Star - Zanahoria and al pastor taco - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been to Big Star quite a few times and the quality has always been great. I always start with chips and salsa/guacamole and a Paloma. This place is FAST. Multiple times after we order chips and dip, it comes within the minute. My absolute favorite is the elotes. SO SO GOOD. I switch up the tacos I get each time, but I always find myself reordering the papas con rajas taco and the walking taco. When it's a gorgeous day out, I always want to go to Big Star for their patio! read more

Big Star - Taco de Pollo Taco de Papas Barbacoa - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Only thing really on the menu is the tacos. They're okay but they lacked a little flavor. The service was very good. Attentive to the table. This place seems more of a drinking restaurant compared to just a restaurant, as the drinking menu seems to be bigger than the food menu. Def would return for drinks & snacks with friends. Cute little out door patio & fun games they offer for people to use. Dog friendly on the patio read more

My friend and I ordered tacos from here a few weeks ago. We tried the location in Wrigley before and liked it so much we ordered again. The tacos were as delish as before. We ordered a couple of the Taco de panzas (pork belly), one el pastor, and one Barbacoa, as well as a walking taco. All of it was tasty but my favorite is the pork belly one. The way they make the skin crisp and the meat just right is perfect. The meat portions were big and very appreciated. I did knock a star off for presentation though. It seemed like minimal effort getting the meat in the tortilla. It was more next to it than in it. read more

Big Star - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Although my bartender was cool and served me a good drink , these bugs appeared right in front of me at the bar. Good thing I didn't ordered any food from here. Sorry big star but seeing strange bugs run accross from me while sitting in the bar and people around me eating food. Is a HUGE no! You lost yourself a customer and please everyone beware I can only imagine what the kitchen looks like. Sorry to leave the bad review but this is all based on facts . Ciao big star read more

Big Star - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I am surprised that I have never been to Big Star before. I had a friend who had his birthday dinner there last night and while there were some ok things, it still was a tasty time! We went with the chips, salsa, and guac which was actually really good. The guac might be some of the best that I have had in awhile. The salsa and the chips were excellent as well! I went with the Paloma and a Margarita. Both were the highlight of the meal! This is what you come here for! The Margarita was especially well balanced and tasty. They have quite the selection of tacos which is of course is what we went with. However, they brought out all of our tacos on a platter, making us figure out whose tacos were whos. I do not know why they couldn't just bring them out on an individual basket. The pork belly taco was the best of the ones I had. Very good sauces and flavor! Next best was the barbacoa which tasted good, but pretty much what I expected. It was also the one with the most meat which was nice, but barbacoa is a wet kind of meat so it did a number to the single tortilla (for $5+ tacos, you'd think they would double up on the tortilla). The shrimp one had potential, but the shrimp was super hard. Probably the biggest disappointment was the potato taco which I was expecting to be like Patatas Bravas on a tortilla. It was more like breakfast potatoes with a bland sauce. I finished up with a churro pop which was also excellent, but not something they make. Still, they know how to pick a good vendor! The service was generally ok, but I think we had a pretty new server. The splitting of the bill was a bit of a nightmare, but the server and manager worked through it and got it done. I will say that it was better service than expected for Wicker Park so I will give high praise to the Manager and Server. Even if that was his first day, it was still awesome! The only thing about this place that doesn't sit right with me is the price. It seems a bit overpriced for what you get, especially the tacos. Everything was a bit overpriced, but the drinks and guacamole were able to stand up to that premium because they were good. The tacos? Eh. I would not have a problem coming back again, but I probably will come here for Apps, drinks, and maybe one taco! read more

Slow to go window, very expensive for the size and quality. Seems best suited for a drinks and small bites crowd, not lunch crowd. Food is tasty just very expensive considering portion size. read more

This place has COVID dining DOWN. They were so efficient and made me feel safe. A lot of outdoor seating and amazing service. Keep in mind, it is pricey. I for sure only needed to get 2 tacos but I was starving so I got 3 and didn't eat all of them. The chorizo taco was my fav and is the reason I will be back again soon. I also really liked their chips and salsa. The fish taco was not good AT ALL to me. I would call myself a fish taco connoisseur and this one had way too much bread and tasted like a funnel cake lol. The chicken taco was meh. Chorizo all the way. Also, this place is a salt bomb. I felt so full afterwards from all the freaking salt. Drink a lot of water lol. All in all, I suggest it because it is convenient, fast, and hip. Just don't have crazy high hopes about the tacos, they are not the best around. read more

Big Star - Chips & Salsa - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I finally got to check this place out with some of my friends. We got chips, guac and salsa for the table and the salsas were delicious had a good kick and flavor to them. I ordered three tacos the fish, shrimp and papas con rajas. The fish were my favorite! The shrimp was also good but not as memorable to me as the fish. The papas taco were giving more papas than rajas and i'm not sure I'd recommend those. My friend ordered a quesabirria and it was huge and they really liked it. I also really appreciated that the tortilla are fresh/handmade. Service was fast and it's a nice place to go on a sunny day. Will come again. read more

Ordered takeaway from the window and the wait time was 5 minutes. I got a half order of nachos and added pastor for meat. And also got the pork belly taco. The taco was bigger than the little corn tortillas I get in Texas and I was told they are generous with the filling, which was true. None of this was phenomenal for me to come back. I don't get why the pastor meat and the pork belly had a subtle sweetness to it. It's meant to be savory. And pastor should be smaller pieces. I ain't Mexican but I've eaten plenty of authentic Mexican food and I guess this is "Mexican fusion" at best. The taco had potential but they need to go back to the drawing board. The nachos could use more cheese. Ground beef would have been the perfect meat to use. Not sure why this place has high ratings, but it sure was busy in the outdoor seating area. read more

Delicious spot for drunk tacos and a night-cap meal. Lots of vegetarian and hearty meaty options. While the spicy Papas Con Rojas potato and Yuba Guisado tofu tacos were good, the Walking Taco piqued my curiosity! I was quite confused by the Fritos bag and started to just eat the chips from the top and didn't realize there was chili on the bottom. Make sure to mix up the bag before eating! The vegetarian chili was bland with refried beans, corn, jalapeno, and cheddar cheese. It was a sodium overload with the crunchy salty Fritos chips. Interesting and fun to try though! My hubby enjoyed the Pollo Chicken Tacos and delightfully got another round. I wasn't a fan of the male server's cocky attitude and sarcastic sense of humor. My hubby thought he was funny, but I found his smug behavior off-putting. A great place to grab some late night grub. Definitely try the Walking Taco! read more

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The service was good, the music was too loud and the food was mediocre. Not sure what the hype is about this place. There were some dogs since we were seated outside. The salad was okay. The corn was spicy. And the Fritos bag was a little spicy. The tacos are spicy. My mom ordered the pastor and papas with peppers tacos and she said they were too spicy. Not authentic Mexican obviously, they put their spin on their menu items. Menu selection is limited. Very few items to choose from. Mostly just tacos and 2 salad options. And the frito bag. Meh read more

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Great tacos! Overall, I'd recommend stopping by to order tacos, they're a bit small for the price and it's served family style which can be confusing with a large group. There are various options of different kinds of tacos to order, and they all taste great! The servers are very helpful and the food arrived very rapidly after ordering! read more

Big Star - Taco de Pollo and Taco al Pastor tacos - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Got take out and food was great. Can only imagine how they are fresh. Big nachos were delicious. Definitely more chips than toppings so could have used more fix ins but still tasty. Got the camarones fritos which was probably my favorite. The charred scallion crema was delicious on it. Al pastor was a good second but I should have eaten it when it was fresh. Panza was ok- nothing to write home about. Will def try again as a dine in. read more

Pretty average in my opinion. Food was relatively bland and was not quite generous with the toppings/servings especially with the price in consideration, but perhaps that's just all Chicago prices. The service was not exactly there either, we had reservations but was still placed with outside seating right next to the door which was blasting chill wind frequently. At least the beer wasn't bad! read more

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I ordered in for big star. They have a good range of tacos. Potato taco - 4.5/5 Walking taco- 2/5 Fish taco- 3.4/5 Guac and chips- 4.5/5 read more

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Located in the trendy & vibrant Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Big Star delivers a casual Mexican eatery to Chicagoans with gourmet tacos. Spacious patio. Good service. 4 out of 5 stars. read more

It's been a long time since I was first here. Same crowds, same ambiance. Extremely fast service. Tacos were a bit hit and miss. Al pastor and battered shrimp, fantastic. Barbacoa flavor was on point but also stringier than expected and a bit hard to chew through. Chicken was mediocre and Costco does it better (not sorry). Elote? Hell yeah. Guacamole? Decent but I was expecting better. Table salsa? Red was great, green merely decent. I was advised Pacifico for a warm evening. Basic bastard beer but you know what? They were right. read more

Great place to get food after the game! This Was in walking distance and lots of space Downstairs and upstairs. We had 6 people so we got a pitcher which was pretty pricey but made sense for our group. Chips and salsa were really good and we ended up getting queso which was a prefect starter. The tacos were great, but hard with a large group since they serve them as family style. So if you order 3 tacos you specifically want, you have to listen to locate them as the server puts them down. One thing I will say, we had a subpar waiter. As we were ordering a second pitcher she asked if we wanted to order food, as we were grabbing the menus to start ordering she slowly walked away even after we called after her. It was about 20 mins before she came back to ask for our food order. At the time of her walking away while we were ordering, she had put on sunglasses and was less friendly. Not sure what happened there. read more

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Came to big star for the FIRST time (yes, I know- I'm late. I get it). Came before my friend arrived and I put my name down for an outside table and shimmied my way inside to the bar. I ordered a Paloma- Delicious! After 30 min or so a table was ready and I made my way outside. I waited about another 15-20 min until someone came by. My friend arrived and we ordered chips, guac and salsa (gauc was delicious, salsa not so much). Another 20 min went by until we were able to wave someone down to order some tacos. We ordered steak, potato, fish tacos and a walking taco. honestly- 1.5 stars. totally not impressed. BUMMER! everything was very bland. I also ordered another Paloma and tasted completely different from the first one I ordered. Overall the cocktails were good and the patio was amazing. The service sucked and the food was blech.. read more

Big Star - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Very relaxed but great taco options and very attentive staff. Would have loved to sit outside but just too hot out. Want to go back at night for the whole vibe. read more

Really enjoyed the fish taco/shrimp taco!! Decent price for street tacos as well. We were greeted promptly and our food came out almost instantly after ordering. Drink portions were pretty small for margs. Great outdoor space! read more

Big Star - Panda, barbacoa, fish taco, shrimp taco - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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It was 230pm and we webt to three restaurants and they are all closed for lunch. So we went here coz they're open. We ordered big nachos, taco al pastor, and trumbon. It was so good. We loved it. First time i have tried a taco with pineapple. I would rate it 4 star and would definitely come back. read more

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It's not necessarily the service that's bad. Most of the people there were friendly and our food was served pretty quickly. However, I feel like this place was more focused on being trendy/modernized than anything else. Food/drink portions were small considering their cost. Also, this is the first Mexican restaurant I've been to where you have to PAY for the chips and salsa basket at the beginning... Anyway, not a fan of these trendy/hip places that overcharge and under-deliver read more

Big Star is a Wicker Park staple and neighborhood favorite. I would claim that its is one of the first "gourmet" taco joints before it became a thing. I love to see how much this business has thrived over the years! The new normal If you're looking for a place to eat comfortably and safely during this pandemic, I recommend Big Star. They have an enclosed patio space with HEATERS that is warmed enough to enjoy your meal without a coat. I mean who wants to eat tacos with their coat on! Big Star staff really did a spectacular job making you feel safe throughout the meal. The staff wore masks at all time, the tables were spaced out, menus were posted on the web, and they offered contactless payment. Food & Drink recs Tacos are a la carte-I highly recommend getting the fish and the pastor. The tacos are pricey but have substances and great flavor. Also, their Blueberry Collin is so refreshing if you're looking for a Maragrita alternative. Once we're out of this new normal, I highly recommend checking them out in the summer. It's the place to be! Beware of the potential long waits during warmer months! I'm pre-warning you, hangry individuals! read more

Big Star - Taco Town! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Not cool! I'm sitting on the patio, just finishing up with my meal, and I see the heavy set biological male server in a tropical shirt sneeze several times, blow his nose at the food counter and walk to another guest to take their order... I walk to the host and let him know the situation; he pulls down his sunglasses and states "I'll take care of it!" While waiting for my server to come collect my card to pay for my bill, the servers has yet to wash his hands, he has now walked to several tables with at least five people each, and the host has yet to let the server know to wash his hands. Beyond unacceptable!!! read more

Big Star - The entrance - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place was great! My husband and I stopped in for a couple drinks and a few tacos mid day and it was such a nice place to hangout! The bartenders were super helpful, and extremely personable! I have the steak taco and I loved it! The first drink I had wasn't my favorite and the bartender suggested something else based on my preferences and I loved it! Their bourbon is also extremely affordable. I think this is important because there are a lot of places where bourbon is stupid expensive and it can make it hard to try higher end bottle! I would highly recommend this place! read more

Was visiting my family in Chicago and they spoke really highly of this restaurant. Def lived up to expectations! Started with nachos and queso for the table and both were great! Nachos had a good amount of toppings and the queso came super warm with fresh tortillas. For tacos, I tried the walking taco and a fish taco. My favorite was hands down the walking taco. It brings you back to your childhood where you're eating it out of a bag. The taco is essentially taco ingredients in a Fritos bag! The fish taco wasn't my favorite but I'm not a huge fan of fish either way. I tried it based on a suggestion.. glad to have stopped by! read more

WOW. MIND BLOWN. I'm not normally a taco fan but this place is bomb. 10/10 would recommend. queso fundido: the queso was slightly spicy, consistency thicker than your normal queso dip. Its more like a nice glop of melted cheese. ensalada de big star: big enough to share between 4. The sauce and avocado blend was nice. A little taken aback to see romaine lettuce back on the menu but I'm assuming its safe to be consumed. taco de pescado: SERIOUSLY GET THIS. IT IS SO GOOD. I dont even like cole slaw but the cabbage was a perfect match with the fried fish. My favorite fish taco so far. read more

Ambience - 4/5 Service - 3.5/5 Food - 3.5/5 Value - 3.5/5 The atmosphere is fun, very open and energetic, especially if there is a baseball game. There are a good variety of tacos, I was more impressed the first time I came, but still, very good flavor. Our order got messed up at first, but they fixed it for us. read more

More 2 stars than Big Star... Reasons: 1) food is not so great. There are much better tacos in Chicago; 2) low-quality drinks (I can get better margaritas by buying a margarita base at a grocery store; 3) totally overpriced. The icing on the cake? The hospitality supplement of 3% on top of the minimum starting tip of 18% for really no service at all. I am giving two stars because there is no end to "worse" these days. 12 years ago this place was trendy among young folks in Wicker Park. It was quite empty on a Thursday summer night today. Go somewhere else in Chicago if you want to eat tacos and drink margaritas. read more

I have been a fan and a customer of Big Star for many years. Most people are surprised when I'm asked, what are your top taco restaurants in the city? I always mention Big Star. Why? Well because their small menu is executed very well. For example, their al pastor tacos are simply some of the best in the city. I would put these tacos up against any of the upscale Mexican restaurants in the city. My must have tacos each time I visit are the fish tacos which are done exactly the way they are done on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula. Delicious chunks of cold water fish are battered in a light tempura style and put into a tortilla with a dizzle of spicey mayo and some freshly cut cabbage, spicey salsa and a lemon wedge on the side. It sounds so simple, but, you would be surprised how many Mexican restaurants get this wrong. These are the type of tacos that put Mexican fish tacos on the radar of chefs all over the world. Each time I bite one of these tacos it takes me back to the first time I tried them on the Baja Peninsula! read more